Dougherty Co. D.A. speaks on Former President Donald Trump’s plans to surrender Thursday

ALBANY, Ga. – As former President Donald Trump as planning to surrender for booking in Atlanta later this week, questions are surrounding the circumstances for a grand jury.

CBS 44’s Brian Roche joins us live outside of the Dougherty County Courthouse. Brian, what can we expect later this week?

Political figures have been indicted by a grand jury in the past, but not on the level of a former President of the United States.

That’s why I spoke with Dougherty County’s District Attorney about what this entails.

District Attorney Greg Edwards says first and foremost, the same principals that would apply to any other citizen would apply to a former President.

“…That’s going to be the unique issue. Of course this is an unprecedented legal situation. But, because nobody is above the law, the President is an individual citizen, and would be treated the same way every individual citizen is to be treated,” said Greg Edwards, District Attorney, Dougherty County.

The 45th President is set to surrender for booking in Fulton county on Thursday, August 24th on state charges regarding conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

And, with the magnitude of the indictment, the selection of a grand jury is critical.

With one caveat that may make the jury completely impartial.

“…You don’t have to be a registered voter, so that’s not necessarily a requirement to be on a grand jury in Georgia. So, that’s not necessarily going to be a determining factor,” said Edwards.

But, for those concerned about the former President surrendering in Atlanta, his going before a grand jury is not an immediate blow to his current campaign for the White House.

“A grand jury indictment is not a determination of guilt or innocence or anything. What a grand jury indictment does is define the charges that the person is to face, and that person has the opportunity to prepare his or her defense against the charges…” said Edwards.

While there are concerns from both sides of the aisle at the national level if a grand jury can be impartial, Edwards tells me that as long as a person is an American citizen over the age of 18 with no felonies and is mentally competent, they could very well be on the grand jury for the case regarding the former President.

This instance in Fulton county will mark the fourth time this year that former President Trump has been booked on criminal charges.

Brian Roche reporting.

Copyright 2023 CBS 44 South Georgia. All rights reserved.